For entry in 2018

Please read the instructions for the Research Statement carefully as these have changed from previous years.

For direct entry to the MRes/PhD programme there is an application deadline of 13 December 2017. Complete applications must be received by the LSE Graduate Admissions Office by 23.59hrs (UK time) on 13 December 2017. We will not be able to accept any materials that arrive after the deadline; only complete applications supplied with all required supporting information by 13 December 2017 will be considered.

Admissions decisions will be made by a committee in the Economics Department. Applicants will be informed of the decision by early March 2018. If your application is successful, we expect you to let us know by 15 April 2018 whether you are planning to enrol.

A full range of Graduate Admissions guidance and information is available via their Admissions Enquiries page.

For any other queries, please contact the Graduate Admissions Office. To email Graduate Admissions, please first try to find the answer to your question by running a search on the online enquiries system where you will see the option to directly “send a written enquiry” to the Graduate Admissions Office .

Your Research Statement should be submitted in place of the Outline Research Proposal, along with your application form and other required supporting documents, via the LSE online application system.

Please answer the following questions clearly and concisely. Max 200 words per question.

Why do you want to do research in economics?

Can you explain how your studies and experience make you suitable to do research in economics?

Which aspect of the PhD do you think you will like the most? Which will you dislike the most? Why?

Tell us about your favourite paper in economics. What do you like about it? How would you improve it?

Write a comment for a general audience on ONE of the following topics (i) Is inequality good for growth? (ii) Do immigrants take the jobs of native workers? (iii) Is CEO compensation excessive? (iv) Is universal minimum income a good idea? (v) Overall, has central banks' move to inflation targeting been a success? (vi) Is culture an important determinant of differences in income per capita across countries? (vii) Markets function well as information is aggregated efficiently through prices. (viii) Elections are effective at disciplining politicians who do not have the public interest as their main goal.

If you have served as research assistant for an economist please ask that person to write a letter focussing on your research skills and describe your experience – reference point 2 (above) of the research statement.

If not, please list any evidence you think would be valuable. Examples include but are not restricted to: experience working autonomously under stress without any guidance, demonstration of creativity in any form, experience of writing original research.

This is neither necessary nor desirable. Applicants must submit a complete application by the published deadline. There is a formal review process whereby the Department will decide if we can offer candidates a place on the programme. The allocation of a supervisor is done after completion of Year 1 of the programme, based on each student's area of interest and availability of faculty. There is no presumption that a student will be allocated the supervisor of their own choice, or any member of faculty they may have contacted before/during the application process.

All applicants must have taken the GRE General Test and must include the test score with their application. For details of how to take the test, see the ETS website. The GRE has three sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical. High GRE scores, especially in the Quantitative section, will further strengthen a good application. Most successful MRes/PhD applicants have scores of 166/800 or more in the quantitative section. Applicants must enter their full and percentile GRE scores for all three sections. The test scores should be less than five years old on 1 October 2018.

If English is not your first language or if the language of instruction for your entire first degree is not English, you will need to provide evidence of your command of English. You do not need to have the required test scores when you apply, but they will form a condition of any offer that you receive and would have to be achieved before you register to commence your studies at the LSE. The Graduate Admissions Office provides detailed information for international students including English language requirements.

The admission committee reviews all applications and offers a place to those candidates with sufficient research potential.

Applicants who have questions about their eligibility for applying to research programmes at the LSE should consult the LSE Minimum Entry Requirementsand the programme-specific page for the programme to which they intend to apply. Meeting the minimum requirements is not a guarantee of admission. In fact, most successful candidates exceed one or more of the requirements.

We regret that we cannot provide any further information or comment on an individual's chances of admission prior to receiving a complete formal application. The committee will make their decision based on all the information submitted with the application, which should be submitted online to the central Graduate Admissions Office.

If you apply for, and receive an offer of, a place on the MSc Economics or the MScEconometrics and Mathematical Economics, your offer will include a conditional offer of progression to the MRes/PhD Economics, normally subject to the attainment of a Distinction grade in the MSc.

Applicants who commence/are already undertaking a PhD programme in another institution will not normally be allowed to transfer directly into a later stage of our MRes/PhD Economics. Such applicants would be expected to submit a full application to the programme like any other candidate and, if offered a place, would be required to undertake all parts of the course from the start of the programme, ie. they would be registered as MRes students and undertake both years of the taught MRes programme along with the rest of the cohort. Exemption from parts of the MRes/PhD Economics, on grounds of having studied certain topics at a previous institution, will not normally be permitted.

There is no separate process to apply for any funding which is administered and awarded by the LSE - as a matter of normal procedure, all applicants who are offered a place on our MRes/PhD Economics would be considered for all types of funding at our disposal and for which they are eligible, on the basis of the information submitted in their application - see Costs and financial aid(please check regularly for 2018 information updates).

As competition for places is very high and competition for funding is even more intense, we may not be able to offer funding to all MRes/PhD students, hence applicants are advised to actively explore all sources of potential funding – see information in the School's Financial Support Office pages (please check regularly for 2018 information updates). Students are expected to take up a place on the MRes/PhD Economics only if they have funds in place to finish the degree.

Admissions decisions are made on the basis of academic merit alone, without any reference to an applicant’s financial situation. Applicants who are able to fund themselves or succeed in securing a scholarship or sponsorship from any source will be considered for entry to the programme in exactly the same way as applicants who have no funding in place. The same procedures and standards apply to all applicants competing for entry.